If you are selling something over the internet or through the classifieds, you may be targeted by a cheque overpayment scam. You might receive an offer from a potential buyer (often quite generous) and accept it. The scammer then sends you a cheque, but the cheque is for more money than the agreed price.

The scammer will invent an excuse for the overpayment. For example, the scammer might tell you that the extra money is meant to cover the fees of an agent or extra shipping costs. The scammer might just say that it was a mistake they made when they wrote the cheque.

The scammer will then ask you to refund the excess amount usually through an online banking transfer or a wire transfer (such as Western Union). The scammer is hoping that you will do this before you discover that their cheque has bounced. You will have lost the money you paid into their account, and if you have already sent the item you were selling, you will lose this as well. At the very least, the scammer will have wasted your time and prevented you from accepting any legitimate offers.

Warning signs

• Somebody makes an offer to buy something you have for sale and wishes to pay more than the agreed price.
• You are sent a cheque in excess of the agreed price and asked to send the balance to a specific bank account or through a wire transfer.

Protect yourself against cheque overpayment scams

• Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam.
• You can contact your local office of fair trading, ASIC or the ACCC for assistance.
• Make sure that cheques have been cleared by your bank before transferring or wiring any refunds or overpayments back to the sender.